Cycle World's Kevin Cameron explained that the literbike class is "the center of the high-performance market", attracting the best development in racing, with the best chassis and suspension design, so it made sense for Kawasaki to create a machine that could leverage this.

A new larger fuel tank, rear trellis subframe and panniers increase the bike's weight by 19 pounds (8.6 kg).

Also added was a new LED lighting scheme and a special top coat of paint that is claimed to be self-healing and able to smooth over small scratches in warmer conditions.

They may be aerodynamic devices designed to create a low-pressure zone to help move cooling air through the engine bay,[39] to produce downforce at high speed,[32][31] or to provide straight-line stability in a short-wheelbase sportsbike chassis.

The H2 was announced by Kawasaki in a late-2014 teaser campaign, and was widely expected to be fully revealed at the Intermot motorcycle trade show the same year.

Cameron also said Kawasaki patent documents suggested the engine would rely on evaporative cooling using port fuel injection, instead of a bulky intercooler.

[45] Journalists also noted that Kawasaki already has a production inline-4 supercharged (albeit intercooled[46]) engine powering the Jet Ski Ultra 300X personal watercraft.

[20] After the introduction, before any test rides had even been permitted, coverage turned to both the bike's unusual styling and its precedent setting power.

Both industry and general-readership press said the machine "will beat up the supersport scene with a steam hammer" (Der Tagesspiegel),[49] "smashes the superbike class" (Gizmag),[31] is "a game changer" (Autoevolution),[50] "a quantum leap into the future that redefines the way we see motorcycles" (Independent Newspapers),[41] and "the poster child of 2-wheeled insanity ... so extreme it's hard to comprehend" (Road & Track),[51] or was simply "radical" (Motor Cycle News)[18] and even "ludicrous" (Bloomberg Businessweek).

Cameron said, "When we look at the current crop of 1000s, all date from before our present "recession," and what little has come by way of new product has sought to please the mostly imaginary "new buyer" with low-tech delights.

[60] The top speed of "over 206 mph" (332 km/h) on the Sulby Straight was recorded on Hillier's personal Strava GPS smartphone app for cyclists.

[61] On June 30, 2016, Kenan Sofuoglu, a five-time world champion Supersport circuit-racer, made a top speed attempt.

[64] This attempt, with the Turkish president in attendance, was made across the then-newly completed Osman Gazi Bridge, at the time was the fourth longest in the world at just over a mile and a half.

[66] After training and preparing for four months, a speed of 400 kilometres per hour (250 mph) in just 26 seconds was claimed by a video-recording of the bike's dashboard display.

Cameron had calculated two years earlier that with the right gearing, the H2R's engine power could theoretically overcome aerodynamic drag up to 250–480 miles per hour (400–770 km/h).